Electrical connectors are commonly used to couple electrical cables to electrical circuit boards. Known connectors have long been used to provide releasable connections between power cables, for example, and circuit boards, where one of a male or female mating connector formed at an end of a power cable releasably engages the other of the male or female receiving connector mounted on a circuit board. These connectors, however, are designed to be positioned at an edge of the circuit board, and thus cannot be used in a central portion of a circuit board.
Thus, a need exists for an electrical connector which can be positioned at some distance from an edge of a circuit board, and an adapter for modifying known electrical connectors to do the same.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a cable connector riser is provided configured to be positioned between a circuit board side of a receiving connector and a circuit board. The cable connector riser has a base portion having a thickness sufficient to provide clearance for a housing of a mating connector on a cable, the housing including a portion projecting downward towards the circuit board from a bottom surface of the mating connector.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a receiving connector is provided adapted to connect a mating connector to an electrical contact on a circuit board located at a distance from an outer edge of the circuit board such that a board side projection on the mating connector interfaces with a substantially vertical surface of the receiving connector. The receiving connector comprises a receiving portion configured to mate with the mating connector, the receiving portion including a latching portion configured to latch a corresponding latching portion of the mating connector, and a riser configured to be located between the receiving portion and the circuit board. The riser has a thickness sufficient to provide clearance for a projection of the mating connector on a circuit board side, the projection projecting downward towards the circuit board from a bottom surface of the mating connector.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a receiving connector is provided adapted to connect a cable to an electrical contact on a circuit board. The receiving connector comprises means located at a distance from an outer edge of the circuit board for releasably mating with the cable such that a board side projection on the cable interfaces with a substantially vertical surface of the receiving connector, means for latching the cable to the cable connector, and means for providing sufficient clearance between the circuit board and the cable for the board side projection on the cable.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of releasably attaching a cable to a circuit board is provided. The method comprises inserting a mating portion of the cable into a receiving connector located at a distance from an edge of the circuit board, and latching the cable to the receiving connector. The mating portion of the cable includes a board side projection projecting downward towards the circuit board from a bottom surface thereof.